Lorra Corbray
Lorra is a young woman of 17, daughter of Vickon Corbray and Mya. She is cousin to Lucamore Corbray and serves as Falconer to House Corbray. Appearance Lorra isn’t to be praised for looks, not being attractive enough to call attention but neither especially repulsive, making her quite ideal for blending in. None of her features are especially striking: she has a longish oval-shaped face with grey eyes faintly tinted green, a long nose with a spray of light freckles across the bridge, fair skin with a yellow undertone and usually a tan. She has soft rather thin and slightly curly light brown hair a few inches shy of her mid-back that she usually wears in two pinned up braids or, in more casual situations, a low ponytail tied up with a red ribbon at the base of her neck and another ribbon at its end (one stubbornly short chin length strand usually escapes whichever hairstyle the girl has). Lorra is equally unassuming in stature; wry, with little curves, thin arms and enough nonexistence of that charm so sought after by the fair sex, to be ignored by men. She has a diagonal slash across her left forearm left after an unfortunate accident while training her birds, but it is usually covered by sleeves. Personality Strangers-most people- would either think of her as cold and unemotional or extremely well-mannered and shy, socially awkward and not talkative, or maybe even the dullest tool in the shed. Unfortunately (or otherwise) it is not the case; Lorra is quite the passionate, bird-loving (sometimes bordering with, or actually being, obsession), emotional and rash (at times) but not unkind young lady who is extremely skilled at maintaining a “prim and proper” facade while in the presence of others, which is, most of the time. This formal side of her can be quickly dispelled however is anyone insults or makes a snide comment about her falcons (which she deems to be the “best there ever was or will be in the Seven Kingdoms”) or family, jokingly or otherwise, in which case she descends upon the wrongdoer in fury- and may they be warned that a ceaseless torrent of hatred and in most cases bitter name-calling will be administered. She is also fiercely competitive and is easily lured out of her stoic demeanor with bets or challenges or gambling, which she is not always good at. Most of the time if not provoked, Lorra is not quick to speak, prefers to shrink into the background and, unless alone, does not exhibit much emotion. (When alone, she is always eager to vent, pout, laugh, and act as wild as possible.) She has a rather concerning habit of holding conversations, making comments, or answering questions in her head rather than out loud, which does help her maintain her “outside character” by venting her feelings on imaginary conversation partners, but sometimes leads to uncomfortable or embarrassing situations where she does not answer out loud, having already done so in her head. Lorra can be whiny and childish-maybe even charming- at times when she wants to wheedle something out of her family, but these spells are usually short-lived and then recalled with a shudder. She has a soft spot for all animals and the elderly, and some of her actions may seem random or especially rash to those who are not acquainted with “inner Lo”. One thing both sides of her have no interest in, however, is romance and marriage. With that said, it doesn’t mean she does not like to catch up to gossip on romantic (and most other) topics, though she never directly participates and merely listens to the others talking from afar. Of the few “womanly” activities she enjoys, dancing would be a first (she also likes to practice music on the pianoforte, but rarely). Of course hunting and other outdoor pastimes would be a first in her book, as well as spending time with and training her birds. Combat-wise, Lorra is a decent archer and horseback rider and is good at wielding knives and daggers, being too short and weak for practicing-let alone fighting with- most swords. History Lorra Corbray’s birth was a year after her cousin, the young lord Lucamore’s. Her mother’s pregnancy was not marked by any complications, and a healthy and very loud baby girl was delivered on the 12th day of the 3rd moon. The joy of her birth was quickly hampered however when Mya caught a sudden cold. The Maesters said it was nothing. Mya died two weeks later from a sudden bout of cough. She was wed for only a year, and Lorra was her only child. Vickon Corbray didn’t have much time to grieve- he had a babe on his hands after all, and though it was quickly given to a wet nurse, he was still a father. The child had something in her manner that reminded the man of his wife. It was probably in the eyes. They were grey, not green like his. He loved those eyes with all his heart. The child grew. She was fussy. She didn’t want to play tea-party and send mock invitations to the servant’s children- or dress in nice clothes and comb her doll’s hair. She scared her wet nurse half to death by bringing her a centipede-on-a-stick as a “gift”. The next day, her father got word of it and only laughed; “Let the kidplay,” he said. The day after, Lorra was allowed to go into the woods for the first time. It wasn’t much fun when three people were hurrying after her yelling “No! Stop!” and catching her before she could climb or jump or run, but it was a start. She loved the woods. She loved Heart’s Home also. It was easy to hide from the servants inside, but Maester Garse always found her. She didn’t like the Maester. He was annoying and grumpy and got even grumpier when she rattled the suits of armor and built forts out of his books. Silly old man. She knew he liked to raid the pantry each night. Lorra was six when she was called by her father. The news made her squeal with joy-she even tolerated the maids putting her into a dress and forming her hair into elaborate curls and braids. Maybe he was going to give her a pony or would take her out hunting. She was disappointed. “You’ll be taking classes from now on,” he said. Septa Falena would teach her how to be a nice proper young lady. If she behaved and Septa Falena was pleased with her progress, he’d give her her very own bird. Lo didn’t like Septa Falena. She was tall, with a tall collar that hid her neck. She wore a strange headdress. Her face was pale and thin, with red-red lips and thin spidery brows. Her fingers were white and thin. She looked like a spider, but there was beauty in that look. Lorra had to admit she had at least tried. Her lessons with Septa Falena went fine for the first year or so. She did get a bird from her father as he had promised- a fine young little hawk she named Ree. As a chick he was really ugly and bald, but Father allowed her to take him to classes He made them much more bearable. Then one day it all went wrong. Why, Lorra couldn’t tell- perhaps it was because Ree wasn’t a baby anymore and she had to leave him outside. Maybe it was because sunny and warm and she didn’t want to go inside. Whatever the reason, Lo snapped and ran off crying bitterly-like little children do, spontaneously, but as if it were the greatest heartbreak ever. The castle was turned upside-down to look for her. Her father was distraught, but after what seemed like an eternity(it really was a few hours) they found the child in one of the tower rooms. She had locked herself in by accident, fastening the bolt and then forgetting how to open it. Lorra was seven. From that day on, she became a tad quieter. She wouldn’t go inside unless someone supervised her- at all times. She’d want to sleep in her fathers or nurse’s room, and continued to take lessons with Septa Falena with diligence. Outside, in the open, she was still old cheerful freckled Lo, but indoors she was almost serious-and sad. And scared. Lo was eight and her “indoor” behavior grew worse. She stopped playing with the children and was more silent than ever while Septa Falena lecured her, and gave Ree away to the falconer because Falena was against girls playing with dangerous birds . She grew thin and caught frequent colds from being outside during rains for too long. Finally her father intervened. “Let the girl have her birds,” he said, and Lorra was given to the falconer as an apprentice. On that same fateful year, Vickon perished whilst fighting the mountain clansman. To everyone’s surprise and chagin, the child didn’t grieve-at all. No crying, screaming, all the usual that followed suit. She just nodded at the news, seemingly shrank in height and stooped away, immersing herself in her studies of falconry even the more from then on, as if to fill in the empty space that had previously been taken up by her parent. The next few years went well. The child grew even more and her skills in handling birds along with it. The falconer was happy with her progress, but she sacrificed social life for the sake of training birds-but she didn’t really mind. Lo was happy. When she was in her thirteenth year, her teacher fell ill. He’d cough all day and it got worse steadily regardless of the bitter teas and concoctions the Maesters gave him to drink. Lorra for fine caring for the birds on her own, but now that the “authoritarian figure” was gone from the scene, the other children started to see themselves as gaining power. One awful day, all the falcons had their blinders torn apart and burned. Another- all the feed was spilled and mixed with dirt. Finally Ree went missing. Lorra found him stuffed into a cupboard in the kitchen. The next day the cook’s boy had a black eye and word had spread that Lorra Corbray was violent, dangerous, attacked innocent children and was probably a witch. The rumors gradually died out, but the “violent” part remained common knowledge. She was fifteen when the House’s falconer died from that awful “coughing”. Not many really missed the quiet man, and after a very laid-back council it was decided Lo was to be the next in line- the old man didn’t have any other students. That caused a lot of whispers- she was a lady after all, in name at least if not in upbringing, and would most likely have to marry some time or another, and who’d want to wed such an upstart? The whispers did die down with time, of course, as whispers do but the mark of the girl’s reputation was there-and would never really go away. Another death quickly followed- that of all her cousins but Lucamore, the siblings allegedly murdering each-other over a squabble for head of house. Again, the same reaction as before- quiet nod and nothing more. The girl didn’t really know them too well, they weren’t as close to her as her father or teach was, but it was still family. And again, she became quieter-more secluded-more obsessed with birds-and more scared of small spaces. Over the next few years, Lo attended her first formal ball, and danced well, and played the fortepiano, but not so well. She gambled and lost a hundred stags on a bet. She got into a fight with several stablehands with mixed results and insulted a distinguished older young lady. She found a queer little old shack in the woods, and her array of birds of prey was larger than ever. She grew ever-taller, though admittedly not very more womanly, and became a popular someone to invite for hunts-for practical reasons as well as a “novelty”. She fared well in her own sort-of way. At least no one bothered her. When the Grand Tourney was announced, she of course wanted to participate, setting her hopes on convincing her cousin to allow her to compete, got permission, and fought-with mixed results. Recent Events 400 AC: The Tourney of Kings Landing Misc Likes Falcons, falconry, hunting, dancing (sometimes), music (to an extent), House Corbray, being outside, running around, fighting, animals, family Dislikes Anyone who insults her family/birds/herself, most House Corbray retainers/servants around her age, ladies, talking with people in general, being alone, being inside/in a small space, studying, sewing, the sick, romance, talking about her teacher/deceased cousins/father. Weaknesses Oddly enough, after accidentally locking herself in a tower room for a while when she was a child, Lorra developed a fear of being left alone. Now she has a tendency to panic if no one’s in a room where there’s supposed to be people, like the dining hall. She’s extremely unsettled by closed up spaces as well, up to the point of refusing to go into tunnels and the like and having constant nightmares of being locked in crates. Lack of Social Skills Known to be socially awkward and an introvert, preferring to keep quiet and go unnoticed, and generally has a reputation of an unliked and easily shunned individual. She also has a tendency to get offended at the tiniest things-and remember it. That doesn’t exactly help her. Holes in Education As a child, Lorra was extremely against learning….well, anything other than hunting and climbing. So her scholarly side is vastly under-developed. Her especial weakness is family histories, in that field, only the Seven can help her, and most probably by killing her on the spot. Mistrustful/easy to anger Though she seems fine with almost anyone, she has trouble getting out of her formal appearance and reveal her true inner self to people. She also is extremely suspicious of letting anyone get too close Strengths Animal Handling Lorra seems to have a thing for animals, especially birds of prey, it being her profession after all. She is quick to learn the quirks and personality of each creature and tries to be as patient as possible, sometimes dedicating days to spending time with one particular bird just to get to know it. She’s arguably better at coexisting with them then with humans. Poker Face She’s great at putting up facades (though sometimes it backfires) and has a relatively good amount of self control. She also has the skill of being able to zone out of conversation or boring discourse and yet look all into it, and sometimes maybe even catch a quick nap without anyone noticing. BUT IF ANYONE MENTIONS MY BIRDS, I’LL KILL THEM. Birds and family are the limit. Hunting Lo has loved to hunt since childhood, even if she doesn’t catch anything. On one memorable occasion she vanished into the woods for a whole week (though afterwards, she’s confined her time chasing after creatures to a day. Or two at the most. The very most.) Undeniably loyal to her family and name Category:RP Characters